Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to a member for electrophotography for use in a fixing device for an electrophotographic image-forming apparatus (hereinafter also referred to simply as “an image-forming apparatus”) and a method for manufacturing this member for electrophotography. The present disclosure also relates to an image-forming apparatus in which this member for electrophotography is used.
Description of the Related Art
An example of a member for electrophotography for use in a fixing device for an electrophotographic image-forming apparatus, e.g., a copier or a laser beam printer, is a rotating body which is in the shape of a belt, a roller, or similar. Some known examples of such rotating bodies are composed of a heat-resistant or metallic substrate, a silicone-rubber-containing elastic layer on the substrate, and a fluorine-resin-containing surface layer on the elastic layer.
In the fixing device, two such members for electrophotography face and are pressed against each other, forming a point of pressure contact which is called a fixing nip. When a recording medium (e.g., paper) carrying an image formed by unfixed toner (hereinafter referred to as “a toner image”) is introduced to this fixing nip, the elastic layers of the two electrophotographic members enclose the unfixed toner through elastic deformation, and transmit heat to the toner. The heat makes the toner fuse, fixing the image on the recording medium.
When this image-forming process is repeated many times, the members for electrophotography are exposed to high-temperature conditions for a long period of time. This affects the strength of the bond between the surface and elastic layers, potentially leading to the detachment of the surface layer during the use of the members for electrophotography.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-212318 mentions a method that can be a solution to this problem. This method includes applying an aqueous dispersion of a fluorine resin containing phosphoric groups to a piece of silicone rubber, drying the resulting coating, and then covering the piece of silicone rubber with a fluorine resin tube.